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Linux
Linux is a "FOSS" unix-like operating system kernel, probably the most successful and famous non-proprietary kernel. Linux is NOT a whole operating system, only its basic part -- for a whole operating system more things need to be added, such as some kind of user interface and actual user programs, and this is what Linux distributions do (there are dozens, maybe hundreds of these) -- Linux distributions, such as Debian, Arch or Ubuntu are complete operating systems (but beware, most of them are not fully FOSS).
Linux is typically combined with a lot of GNU software and the GNU project (whose goal is to create a free OS) uses Linux as its official kernel, so in the wild we usually encounter the term GNU/Linux. Some people just can't be bothered to acknowledge the work of GNU and just call GNU/Linux systems "Linux" (without GNU/). Fuck them.
Linux is sometimes called free as in freedom, however it is hardly deserving the label, it is more of an open-source or FOSS project because:
- It actually includes proprietary software in the form of binary blobs (drivers). The Linux-libre project tries to fix this.
- It's development practices are sus, it is involved with many unethical corporations (through the linux foundation) including Microsoft (one of the greatest enemies of free software) who is trying to take control over it, Google, Intel, IBM and others. It includes a fascist code of conduct (
linux/Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst). - It doesn't really enforce it's license (GPL) legally -- we're not advocating legal battles, but the fact that they entertain a license and then don't use it indicates it may be there just for good image.
- It is bloat and in some ways capitalist software (just try to fork Linux, maintain it and add/modify actual features).
Nevertheless, despite its mistakes, Linux offers a relatively comfy, powerful and (still) safe unix/POSIX environment which means it can be drop-in replaced with another unix-like system without this causing you much trouble, so using Linux is at this point considered OK (until Microsoft completely seizes it at which point we migrate probably to BSD). It can be made fairly minimal (see e.g. KISS Linux and Puppy Linux) and LRS/suckless friendly.
Linux is so called monolithic kernel and as such is more or less bloat. However it "just works" and has a great hardware support so it wins many users over alternatives such as BSD.
Some alternatives to Linux are:
- GNU Hurd, an unfinished (but somewhat usable) kernel developed by GNU itself.
- BSD operating systems such as FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD (best from the LRS point of view)
- bare metal UwU
- TODO: MOAR
History
{ Some history of Linux can be read in the biography of Linus Torvalds called Just For Fun. ~drummyfish }
Linux was created by Linus Torvalds. He started the project in 1991 as a university student. He read a book about operating system design and Unix and became fascinated with it. Then when he bought a new no-name PC (4 MB RAM, 33 MHz CPU), he install Minix on it, a then-proprietary Unix-like operating system. He was frustrated about some features of Minix and started to write his own software such as terminal emulator, disk driver and shell, and he made it all POSIX compliant.
Linus originally wanted to name the project Freax, thinking Linux would sound too self-centered. However the admin of an FTP server that hosted the files renamed it to Linux, and the name stuck.
On 25 August 1991 he made the famous public announcement of Linux on Usenet in which he claimed it was just a hobby project and that it "wouldn't be big and professional as GNU". In November 1991 Linux became self-hosted with the version 0.10 -- by the time a number of people were already using it and working on it. In 1992, with version 0.12, Linux became free software with the adoption of the GPL license.
On 14 March 1994 Linux 1.0 -- a fully functional version -- was released.
TODO: moar